"They only see 'Muslim' in Karim": AIUDF's Rafiqul Islam on Karimganj name change row

Guwahati (Assam) [India], November 20 (ANI): AIUDF MLA and Party General Secretary Rafiqul Islam on Wednesday hit out at Chief Minister Himant Biswa Sarma over the state cabinet decision of renaming Karimganj as Sribhumi District, saying that they only see 'Muslim' in Karim.
Speaking to ANI, he said that it is difficult to say that he is the Chief Minister of Assam, referring to his role as the BJP election in charge of Jharkhand.
"The CM has nothing to do right now. He stayed in Jharkhand for a month. It is difficult to say that he is the Chief Minister of Assam," he stated.
He further said that Karimganj is a historical name. "Karimganj is a historical name. So if those who are saying that the names that are not in the dictionary, which are not meaningful, will change it, then thousands of names in Assam will have to be changed," he added.
Describing the meaning of Karim, he said, "Karim has a good meaning; why there is no meaning, it has a good meaning. Karim means love and affection."
"They only see Muslims in Karim," Rafiqul Islam added.
He underscored the role of his ancestors in keeping Karimganj with India, adding that he takes pride in the matter.
"When India-Pakistan was divided, at the time of the referendum, some people came together to split this district into two pieces and took the piece of Sylhet with Pakistan. But it remained in Assam. We speak in pride that our ancestors made efforts to keep Karimganj with India during partition," he noted.
"Karimganj remained in Assam. If Matlubur Rahman Majumdar voted in favor of Pakistan that day. The area would not have been in Pakistan... The Chief Minister should read all this and then put your hand into these things," he claimed.
This came after Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday stated that the Karimganj District will be renamed Sribhumi. The key decision has been taken in the state cabinet meeting held on November 19.
"Over 100 years ago, Kabiguru Rabindranath Tagore had described modern-day Karimganj District in Assam as 'Sribhumi'--the land of Maa Lakshmi. Today the #AssamCabinet has fulfilled this long-standing demand of our people," CM Sarma posted on X. (ANI).